MS NAACP talks about Voter ID

Voter ID Out to Hurt Your Vote in 2014

The Republican Secretary of State has told reporters that his crusade to mandate new voting requirements has nothing to do with turning minorities away from the polls, even though countless studies show it is minorities who most often do not own photo identification.

The Secretary of State maintains that the new restriction merely discourages in-person voter fraud, but is never able to produce proof that in-person fraud is a problem in the state. Hosemann instead points to recorded cases of mail-in voting fraud or cases where state politicians “bought” votes—neither of which would be discouraged by photo ID requirements. The new law does not require photo ID to vote with mail-in absentee ballots, and people who sell their vote will probably have their photo ID handy when they cast their sold vote.

To sell the idea of the new vote restriction as un-racist, Hosemann and Republican lawmakers have agreed to sink $1.5 million of state money into a plan to tap into a national birth certificate database (to verify voter eligibility) and provide free transportation to individuals looking to secure state ID, according to the Hattiesburg American.

Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson said he is convinced this extra work is really an over-processed effort by white political leaders to keep blacks home on elections.

MS NAACP
2/5/14